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Ovaicaea
Ovaicaea is the only explored continent of the known world. It is the apparent home of numerous civilizations and races, though some may have originated on other continents now lost to history. It has been inhabited for hundreds of thousands of years by creatures both mundane and magical, and possesses a history that runs deeper than the written word. The majority of the information in this encyclopedia pertains to this continent and the events that have played out across it. Geography The continent is generally wide, broad, and rounded in shape, with a significant divot in the southern end forming a large sea with several gulfs and bays, framed by two long peninsulas. Ovaicaea is a land of varied terrain, with vast and arid deserts and frozen tundra as well as sweeping grasslands, fierce mountain peaks, vast woodlands, brackish coasts, and lush river valleys, as well as other climates and ecosystems. Besides its surrounding and diverse coastlines, the dominant geographical feature of Ovaicaea is the Great Southern Sea, which braces four distinct civilizations and forms the economic and culture core of these areas. Next in significance is the interconnected chain of the Skyshroud, Morningland, Aendril, and Ucral mountain ranges. This set of mountain ranges forge other dominant land features: the sand dune deserts of the Transucral and Aendrilad Deserts, which together form the Great Waste; the icy tundra of the Frostfells and the eastern grasslands of the Great Steppe; and several mighty rivers whose sources are mountain springs, such as the Golden River, the Aendrilad River, and the Athua River. Last among its defining features are the complex of plateaus, forests, and river valleys in the western half of the continent, mainly the Eldun and Karkuz Plateaus, and the valleys of the Dorei and Eldun Rivers that cut between them. This region has produced the most complex and diverse array of civilized nations, and houses of the mysterious and sacred Feywild from which originate the creatures of fairy and elvenkind. Ovaicaea includes the following geographical and political regions: Western Ovaicaea The western part of the continent is the most extensively populated, dominated by alternating grassland plateaus and river valleys that have played host to numerous civilizations. From north to south, the main features are the Karkuz Plateau, the Dorei River valley, the Eldun Plateau, and the immense Eldun River valley. It is bounded to the west by the Western Ocean, to the east by the West Mountains and the Athua River, and to the south by the Tethar Mountains and the Mocryae Lowlands. Western Ovaicaea is the heartland of the New Empire, and was the main territorial extent of the Old Empire, and today contains several major political entities: the dwarven and human kingdoms, the Eldunari League, the gnomish Kingdom of Balendor, and numerous free cities are part of the Empire; the Karkuz Plateau forms the homeland of the western orcs as the Odkarkuz Khanate. Southwestern Ovaicaea The southwestern region is densely populated, but relatively small compared to the larger western regions. It is bounded to the north by the Tethar Mountains and the Eldun River, to the east by Lake Kaiser, and to the south by the Great Southern Sea. It comprises several coastal areas, peninsulas, and island chains. Politically, it is dominated by the empire of Gestrin, which rules much of the region and projects power and influence over the nations of Tethar and Mocryae, which are nominally part of the New Empire.